Have you ever thought about how children with autism are actually the best teachers for all of us? They are very sensitive to many of the harmful substances and elements around us and manifest their negative reactions to them very clearly. For instance, they try to isolate themselves from the noisy and polluted environment, full of chemicals and toxins. They often develop picky eating as their digestive system is sensitive to many different foods leading them to look for comforting and rewarding substances like sugary products. They immediately run away from unnecessary communication and activities that they do not enjoy doing and preserve their energy for necessary and enjoyable things.
autism
HOW TO SAVE MONEY and HELP YOUR CHILD WITH AUTISM EFFECTIVELY – Mind-Opening Strategy For Parents of Children With Autism
Do you know how much money parents spend when they have a child with autism? Of course, it is very difficult to give an exact amount, as each situation is very different, but it is clear that such families with a child with autism have much more financial pressure to provide their little loved one with adequate support. Back in 2014, a study was published in the American magazine “JAMA Paediatrics” that suggested THE TOTAL LIFETIME COST OF SUPPORTING AN INDIVIDUAL WITH AN ASD IN THE US IS $1.4 MILLION. And this number increases significantly if the person is also intellectually disabled; to a sum of up to $2.4 million. These are serious expenses! At the same time, due to any number of reasons, families with autistic children generally earn approximately 28% less than families with non-autistic children. Can you relate to this situation? However, these astronomical sums can be greatly reduced! Would you like to know how? Let’s explore.
How to Help Children With Regressive Autism!
In my last blog (https://liverighteu.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/are-you-aware-that-autism-recovery-is-possible/), I shared two wonderful real stories of children who recovered from autism. I told you about two mothers who managed to help their kids overcome lots of problems and recover from autism completely. But did you notice that both of these cases were about regressive autism? Are you aware that up to 30% of all autistic children have this specific type of autism? And this number keeps on growing! So, what exactly is regressive autism and how can we help children with this type of autism?
[Read more…] about How to Help Children With Regressive Autism!
ARE YOU AWARE THAT AUTISM RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE?
Are you aware that 1 in 50 children in the US are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and that the number of children affected keeps increasing with a 10% annual growth, making Autism the fastest growing neurodevelopmental condition? Is this not astonishing? However, what is even more striking is the fact that AUTISM IS A REVERSIBLE CONDITION. We do not know the exact statistics, but about 10% of children recover from ASD! And this is fantastic!
[Read more…] about ARE YOU AWARE THAT AUTISM RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE?
7 Energy Restoring Tips For Exhausted Mothers of Children With Autism
How often do you hear mothers of children with autism saying things like: “I am so exhausted because my son is having such a hard time with his behaviour”, “I had a very rough night with my husband losing his temper and my children crying”, “I am emotionally tired and physically drained”? Probably very often! Such expressions are very common among parents of children with autism. And, of course, there is no surprise here! Parents face never-ending challenges, worries, chronic stress and lack of sleep. They take their kids to endless therapy sessions, doctors, schools, teachers, assessments and evaluations! They simply do not have the time to recharge their own “batteries”, to think about their own health and their personal needs! Therefore, it is no surprise that these mothers are simply exhausted and chronically tired. Are you one of them? Do you feel this energy drain? Can you relate to this situation?
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Where Does Autism Recovery Begin? – A Message to All the Anxious Mothers of Children With Autism
Recently I read this mother’s very touching words:
“My child is very loved, but as a mother I get drained from the fight. I fight for him daily to be the best he can be. Autism isn’t all sunshine, rainbows and unicorns. It’s rough and I have no doubt we will make it. I am his N1 supporter.”
Every time I come across a message similar to this, my heart beats a little bit faster! I really feel for these mothers who are trying their best, day and night, to support their children. This is never an easy process, but when your child has autism, it is much, much more challenging. And it is even more demanding if the parent in question has more than one child! It is a tough position to be in and not all parents are able to handle such circumstances. In many cases, mothers go through everything completely alone, accumulating exhaustion, tremendous stress and chronic fatigue while trying to be, and do, their best for their dearest child.
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE ANSWER TO WHY YOUR CHILD ISN’T SLEEPING? 3 Tips For Mothers of Children With Autism to Help Their Little Ones Get a Better Night’s Sleep
How quiet and peaceful is your sleep? Do you manage to get quality rest during the night time? If you are a mother of a child with autism, then it is very likely that your answer to these questions will be negative! 80% of children with ASD have sleep problems and this, of course, affects the whole family and especially the mothers. These sleepless, restless nights when your child can not sleep for a long time or when even during sleep he is constantly moving and kicking, can easily drive you crazy. Have you been through this type of frustration? You are tired, you hide your head under the pillow, you try to use headphones, but nothing helps! And proper rest when your child has finally stopped wandering around or persistently tossing and turning and has fallen asleep is but a dream. THIS EXHAUSTION DUE TO LACK OF SLEEP IS NOT HEALTHY FOR ANYONE. Night rest is a very special period of time when our body is not just resting, but also detoxifying, restoring and healing itself. If you start to abuse this pattern of rest, so vital to our health, very quickly you will generate misbalance in your body, which may then result in any number of chronic health conditions. But how can you help your child to overcome these sleep disturbances? If you are searching for such a solution then this article is for you!
DO YOU DREAM OF A MELTDOWN FREE DAY? – Three Steps For Mothers of Children With Autism to Achieve This Dream
As a mother of a child with autism, how often do you witness your child experiencing an outburst where he shouts, screams and cries or where he kicks, bites and lashes out or maybe even everything at once? What comes to mind when your child reaches the point where you can no longer control his behaviour? Are you afraid of him hurting himself or somebody else? Are you scared that he might run away? Are you terrified that your little loved one will be sent away from school or even arrested because of such violent unpredictable behaviour? How confident are you when you look into the future of your dearest child and when you see that he is becoming more stubborn and more aggressive with age because his hormonal changes and physical development are adding up to heighten any already existing problems? Are you emotionally drained? Then this article is for you!
The 3 Key Points For Mothers of Autistic Children to Succeed In the Dietary Programme
By now, you will have probably come across the nutritional and dietary approach to autism., It has been in the media many times recently and you may have seen articles such as, “The miracle that cured my son’s autism in our kitchen” or “Autism recovery with the GAPS diet: one mother’s story”. As a mother of a child with autism, what do you think when you see articles like these? Interesting? Impossible? Nonsense? Another garbage? What flashes through your overwhelmed brain? When you are drained and tired from dealing with your special child 24/7 when you are overwhelmed from visiting different specialists and trying different techniques that may work but by no means dramatically improve the situation when you are afraid to think about the future of your child because you are not sure how he/she will cope in this uneasy world by himself when you experience all of these feelings and then somebody tells you that some diet could actually be the miracle treatment for your child… Of course, you may well be very sceptical or even angry towards such opinions and you, probably would not even click on any of the articles listed above to read through. You feel fed up with these ridicules media adverts!
Is GLUTEN Really Everybody’s Bad Guy?
Today I want to talk about Gluten as recently it has become a popular topic for discussion and debate everywhere. Nowadays in every shop and supermarket we can see some variety of gluten-free products. It has become very “trendy” to try a gluten-free diet and, as a result, gluten-free products are a huge business at the moment. It seems to me that the food industry has found a successful replacement for fat-free and low-fat products which are slowly coming out of fashion after creating many health issues and problems. The gluten free food industry is benefiting from $3.4 billion annually and planning to expand up to $24 billion by 2020. Therefore, it is so important to understand properly gluten and to know if you really need to go on a gluten-free diet and what this diet actually means! Otherwise, in a few years’ time, we will face another health crisis such as the one we are facing years of eating fat-free food.
But talking to many people I have realised that the majority of them do not really understand what a gluten-free diet is about and why they may need to follow it. Let’s have a look.
Gluten is a family of proteins that are found mainly in wheat, rye, barley and oats. And, of course, it is present in all baked foods, bread, pasta, many cereals, sauces, salad dressings, soups, beers, food colouring and many others. Due to its ability to glue, gluten has been used in many personal care products as well. But why has gluten become such an issue? And why have people in the past been eating bread and pasta for generations and yet never faced this issue? The reason is that wheat is not the same today as it used to be. Modern wheat is completely different from the wheat people ate back in the past.
First of all, due to mass production, in the 60s wheat with a much greater yield was developed through cross-breeding and genetic manipulations. This changed the nutrient composition and physical properties of the plant.
Additionally, it is processed very differently nowadays as well. After the separation of the nutritious components of the grain (the bran and germ) away from the endosperm (the starchy part), the wheat received by consumers is depleted in nutrients.
Furthermore, the method of food preparation has also been modified dramatically. New technologies allow a huge amount of refined wheat to be created but at a low cost. The process that was used before, which included steps like soaking, sprouting, fermenting and baking with low rise yeasts, are not in use any longer. Now we eat bread that has been bleached and baked with quick rise yeasts.
At the end of the day we are dealing with a completely different protein that is not well recognised by our body and is very difficult to digest. For example, it has been shown that modern wheat contains 19-28% less Zinc, Copper, Iron and Magnesium than the wheat before 1967(Fan MS et al, Evidence of decreasing mineral density in wheat grain over the last 160 years; J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2008).
So, the bottom line is THE WHEAT WE EAT TODAY IS GENETICALLY AND BIOLOGICALLY DIFFERENT AND IS POORLY TOLERATED BY THE HUMAN BODY.
Gluten intolerance used to only be associated with Celiac disease. This autoimmune condition occurs when an immune system doesn’t recognise certain gluten proteins and attack them as viruses or with pathogenic bacteria. At the same time the immune system attacks the gut lining, which causes huge inflammation, leaky gut and many other serious health conditions. About 1% of the population suffers from Celiac disease, but the real number is bigger as many people are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. However, another condition called Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity is very much on the rise at the moment with an estimated number of around 8%-10% of the population, and it keeps growing. Interestingly, many people may have certain symptoms of gluten sensitivity and simply do not realise it. So, what are the symptoms of gluten sensitivity that everyone should be aware off. Let’s have a look!
Many different studies have established a profound link between gluten and neurological dysfunctions such as:
- Depression and Anxiety
- ADHD/ADD
- Migraines and headaches
- Vertigo
- Mood swings
Gluten has also been shown to effect intestinal absorption and also damage other organs that connected to the digestive process. This is causing mineral and vitamin deficiency and causing conditions like:
- Leaky gut
- Chronic fatigue
- Irritable bowel syndrome linked to gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea
- Lactose intolerance and other food intolerances
- Acid reflux disease (GERD)
However, there are some symptoms that are less associated with gluten and can easily be missed or misinterpreted. For example:
- Fatigue due to malabsorption of essential nutrients.
- Joint and muscle pain caused by the inflammation process initiated by gluten.
- Hormonal imbalance (irregular menstrual cycles, infertility, weight gain or loss) as gluten effects a neuro-hormonal system.
- Frequent colds and viral infections as a result of a low immune system.
- Skin rashes and even painful blisters that can appear on the arms, elbows, face and body caused by inflammation under the top layer of skin.
- Dental issues due to a low level of Calcium because of a malabsorption issue.
As you can clearly see, GLUTEN SENSITIVITY CAUSES MANY DIFFERENT HEALTH PROBLEMS. The best way to test it is to try a REAL gluten-free diet for at least two weeks. But you need to do it RIGHT! This means stay away from any form or shape of gluten, even in the smallest quantities. Prepare for this experiment, list all the products and foods that may contain gluten including hidden forms like in some sauces and soups. Do your research and have a list of alternative products you can include in your diet like buckwheat and quinoa. Please, be careful when you buy gluten-free products in shops. Gluten-free processed food is not the answer, it is still processed food with many harmful additives and preservatives. Many gluten-free products are made from refined products and do not have many micronutrients that are essential for our body. So, the best solution will be to cook at home from raw gluten-free ingredients. The menu planner can be a very helpful tool during this period of time. If you feel better after two weeks on this diet and perhaps some of your symptoms start to go away, you may want to continue the diet a bit longer to make sure it is a gluten dependent effect.
Many people see some differences in their conditions and try to avoid eating wheat after the experiment or at least reduce the amount of gluten in their diet. But the decision is yours! In any case this experiment will be a very positive experience for you as you will start to listen to your body more carefully, notice some changes and reactions to certain foods or its absence, learn new recipes and upgrade your cooking skills! So, ARE YOU READY FOR AN EXPERIMENT?
I will be very happy to hear the results of your experiment with a gluten-free diet and I would be happy to assist you in any way.
As usual, I look forward to receiving your ever valuable questions, comments and feedback: irina@liveright.eu